Louis Sharro was the first settler in the township. John Bush and his family came in 1854 and kept an inn for travelers. The township was organized in 1858. Its first post office opened in 1859 and moved to the village in 1897. The village was platted in 1896 and incorporated in February 1900. The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad was completed in 1895, and the first carload of wheat was shipped in 1896. The First State Bank was organized in 1902, and the first Lafayette Ledger was printed in 1904. In 1908, heating tar on a kerosene stove to repair a roof caused a fire that destroyed 7 businesses. By 1976, Lafayette was growing, with a population of 500, many new homes, and thriving business establishments.